


Reconstructing His Past

by jackandsamforever



Category: The Blacklist (TV)
Genre: AU prompt fic, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-07
Updated: 2014-04-07
Packaged: 2018-01-18 12:20:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1428256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jackandsamforever/pseuds/jackandsamforever
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Red receives an opportunity from the Doctor (Doctor Who) to go back in time to relive a moment in his life. He chooses December 25th, 1990. The Doctor doesn't know that Red's trying to rewrite his past.  This is an AU fic. Please don't be put off by the use of the Doctor. He's only a minor character, and no previous knowledge of DW is needed to read this. Lizzington fic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Reconstructing His Past

**Author's Note:**

  * For [theblacklistforever97](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=theblacklistforever97).



> This is an AU about Red going back in time with the Ninth Doctor to try to save his family when given the chance. Now, before you click away, bear with me for a second. The Doctor is going to be a minor character, so you don't need to have seen Doctor Who to read this. Also there will be a lot of sweet Lizzington moments and it won't seem AU. Give it a chance, you might like it. :) This is dedicated to theblacklistforever97 for the great prompt. :)
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to the Blacklist.

_"Everybody knows that everybody dies. But not every day. Not today. Some days are special. Some days are so, so blessed. Some days, nobody dies at all. Now and then, every once in a very long while, every day in a million days, when the wind stands fair and the Doctor comes to call, everybody lives."_  
— River Song

Raymond Reddington wasn't the type of man to believe in the supernatural. He didn't believe in aliens, or ghosts, or the Lochness Monster; he needed tangible proof before he allowed himself to believe something outlandish. He didn't immediately write off the brooding man wearing a black leather jacket with dark short-cropped hair like his own, leaning against an out of place blue telephone box with his arms crossed over his chest; because even though the man looked and acted odd, like he wasn't supposed to be there, he didn't have time to consider that he might be something other than who he appeared to be at first glance; he was late for a meeting with a very important contact who didn't take kindly to tardiness.

As Red passed by him in the alleyway, the man spoke to him in a heavy British accent, "Oy, where you off to then?"

Red glanced at him from behind his amber sunglasses but continued to walk, wishing he had brought Dembe with him. His contact didn't allow bodyguards, but Dembe could have at least accompanied him to the entrance. As he reached the entrance to his contact's headquarters and raised his fist to knock, the man spoke from behind him while still leaning against the phone box. "I wouldn't ignore me If I were you."

With his fist still poised over the door, Red looked at him with an incredulous look on his face. "Or what? You'll take me inside your police box and call the police?" He said sarcastically.

The man chuckled then uncrossed his arms and pushed off the box. "What if I told you that you that I could give you the opportunity to go anywhere in time or space?"

Red dropped his hand and squinted at the man standing a few feet from him. "Did Lizzie put you up to this?"

The man shrugged. "Who's Lizzie?"

Red shook his head and turned back to the door. "Look, I'm not the kind of person you want to be near. I suggest you leave before something unfortunate happens."

Before Red could knock, the man moved a few steps closer. "Have you ever wanted to relive a time in your life?"

Red couldn't believe what he was hearing. This man was clearly off his rocker.

The man spoke again before he could respond. "I'm the Doctor. What's your name?"

"Doctor who?"

The Doctor huffed an amused laugh. "Just the Doctor. Nothin' else."

Red rolled his eyes. "Sure, fine, whatever. Now if you don't mind I'm late for a very important meeting." He knocked on the door before the Doctor could respond, and it opened almost immediately by a large bodyguard. The guard gestured for him to precede him inside. Red glanced over his shoulder to see the Doctor still standing there with a grin on his face, then the door shut and he shook himself; he needed to concentrate.

OOOOOO

Two hours later Red walked out with a deal in place and the information he needed to help Liz catch the next blacklister; he was feeling good and had completely forgotten about his odd encounter with the strange man in the alley.

As Red stepped out into the sunlight, he saw the Doctor still leaning against the box. Red stalked towards him and pulled his gun out of the waistband of his trousers, then pointed it at the Doctor. "Look, what the hell do you want? I feel like I've adequately warned you. I'm a dangerous man that doesn't have a problem disposing people when they become a nuisance." He pulled back the chamber and the gun made an ominous clicking sound.

To Red's utter and complete surprise, the Doctor just grinned widely and turned and pushed the door to the police box open and said over his shoulder. "Follow me, and you'll see and understand what I've been tryin' to explain to ya."

Red watched as the Doctor disappeared and didn't come back as the doors closed behind him. How big was that box on the inside anyway? He stood there for a few more minutes while chewing on the inside of his cheek, contemplating what he should do. Oh hell, he might as well humor the man; he needed a good laugh at the moment.

He stepped forward and pushed the door open, then felt his jaw open and stay open in shock as he took in the vast room in front of him; it was definitely bigger on the inside. There was a center console that had gadgets covering it with a huge glass tube reaching from the top of the console to the ceiling. The rest of the room had coral looking columns with metal grates for the floor, but he couldn't make out much more because the room was so dimly lit. He took another step forward as the Doctor approached him with his arms spread out in greeting. "Welcome to the TARDIS. Time And Relative Dimension In Space. Yes, she's bigger on the inside, and no, this isn't a trick. I'm really not from your planet, so yes I'm an alien."

Red cleared his throat, but couldn't say anything. The Doctor continued, "So I'll ask you again. Is there a time in your life that you want to revisit for the fun o' it? I need somethin' to do, it's not fun travelin' alone."

Of course there was a time he wanted to revisit; he wanted save his family. Suddenly the idea of going back in time didn't sound so ridiculous to his own ears. If this strange man could give him a chance to save his wife and daughter, then he wouldn't ever question anything supernatural again.

Red nodded and said quietly, "December 25th, 1990."

The Doctor nodded and smiled. "You want to revisit some good Christmas memories I take it?"

Red nodded. "Something like that." He knew that if he told the Doctor about his plan to save his family, he wouldn't take him. He was positive there were rules to prevent that sort of thing from happening; but he didn't care. If he could save them, he would take any punishment dished out to him.

The Doctor rubbed his hands together furiously, then ran up the ramp and began to pull levers and push buttons. He looked back and said, "Any particular time that day?"

He needed to arrive as close to the incident as possible. "Around six. That's when the real fun usually began."

The Doctor banged a hammer on another gadget, then yelled with a wide grin on his face, "Hold on, it's going to be a bumpy ride!"

Red grabbed onto the coral nearest him and held on for dear life as it felt like his whole body was being ripped through time itself; it didn't hurt, but it was a weird sensation. It seemed that they arrived as soon as they'd started, because seconds later the TARDIS began to power down and the rattling dissipated.

Red let go of the coral a little reluctantly and brushed off his brown suit jacket; picking at a piece of invisible lint and looking like he hadn't been affected by their travel. The Doctor bounded down the ramp with a grin. "We're here! Where to first?'

Red shook his head and pointed a finger in his chest. " _I'm_ doing this alone. I don't want you to come with me."

The Doctor's smile dimmed slightly, but he nodded and said, "That's fine, but we need to lay a few ground rules first. Number one: No changing anythin' that's already been done. Number two: You can't be seen by anyone you might know in the past. Number three: Do not talk to people who might know or recognize you. There are strict rules that need to-"

"Need to be followed. I realize that." Red cut him off impatiently. He needed to get to his house quickly.

The Doctor frowned and narrowed his eyes. "You're not plannin' anythin' are ya?"

Red relaxed his pinched facial expressions and let a smooth smile slide across his face. "Oh no, I'm just eager to see my family so young again, that's all."

The Doctor nodded and made a shooing motion with his arms. "Off ya go then. See you in a couple o' hours, yeah?"

Red gave him a small smile and stepped out of the TARDIS and looked around. He was definitely in the right time frame judging by the cars passing by and the clothing worn by the people walking on the sidewalk past him. He didn't have time to contemplate that he was actually in the past, or that he was about to break the Doctor's rules. The only thing he could think about was getting to his family in time.

He oriented himself and figured that he was a good mile from his home. It was snowing and bitter cold outside, but he didn't feel it as he began to run in the direction of his family home. The longer he ran, the darker and colder it got. When his house finally came into view, he slowed to a jog and observed the warm light coming from the windows of the two-story home with white siding.

Little puffs of white air surrounded him as he breathed heavily from the exertion of running so far. He stepped onto the porch with a small smile on his face, but felt his blood run cold and his face turn into a scowl as he saw that the front door was cracked open; he was too late.

He opened the door quickly and immediately heard a crash come from the living room. His wife's voice rang out loud and clear. "Who the hell are you and what do you want?!" Oh, how he missed that voice. He fought back the sting of tears as he heard another crash, then a blood-curdling scream.

Red ran into the living room with his heart in his throat and his gun in his hand, then froze at the entrance. There was blood. Blood everywhere. He was too late. His wife was already dead.

There were three men with their backs to him; they hadn't heard him enter. He cleared his throat and raised his gun as the three men turned around with surprise on their faces. Red recognized two of them; he'd been in the Navy with them. Bile rose in his throat as he snarled out, "How could you?!"

"Who the hell are you?" His best friend from Officer School, Matt Cline, said.

Red couldn't form a response as betrayal shot through him like a white-hot poker. He shook his head and quickly shot all three men in the head, then bent over in agony; it felt like all his scars had been ripped open and were bleeding again; the whole thing had been for naught. He'd failed his family again.

He couldn't bring himself to look at the body of his wife as he turned his back from the carnage and stared at the Christmas tree; trying to forget everything he'd just witnessed.

As he stood there for countless minutes, he heard a small cry sound out from upstairs. He narrowed his eyebrows and shook his head; he had to have imagined the sound, he wasn't going to get his hopes up.

"Daddyyyy, Mommmmyyy where are you?" There was a little sob, then the sentence was repeated again.

Red dropped his gun and sprinted up the stairs as fast as he could; not daring to hope until he saw her with his own eyes.

He ran to her room and halted at the door frame, then listened for more sounds. After a few seconds, he heard a little cry come from under the bed and he smiled widely for the first time since he'd arrived in the past. He walked in slowly and knelt next to the bed. He didn't want to scare her, she wouldn't know who he was.

"Renee? You can come out now. It's safe," he said quietly so as not to startle her.

He heard little sniffles, then a shuffling sound as little blonde curls poked out from under the bed. She moved her head to look at him and began to cry again in fear.

He held his hands up in a placating manner. "It's ok. I'm not going to hurt you, I promise," he said soothingly.

His voice must have sounded reassuring, because she climbed out all the way from under the bed and then threw herself in his arms and began to sob loudly. He closed his eyes at the onslaught of memories that his little four-year old's arms around him provoked; it was almost too painful to bear.

He put his face in her neck and cried along with her, letting go of all the pent-up emotions he'd held in for the past twenty-five years. He moved his hands over her back and whispered over and over, "I have you. You're safe. No one is going to hurt you."

After a long while, her cries subsided and she laid her head on his shoulder and fell asleep; her breaths stuttering from crying every time she breathed in. He picked her up and cradled her in his arms gently, then walked downstairs. Past his wife's dead body. Past his "Friend's" dead bodies. Past the blood. He walked out into the cold night and began making his way back to the TARDIS. He didn't care what the Doctor said. He was taking his daughter back to the future with him and was going to raise her like he should have been able to do the first time around; now he had to think of a way how to convince the Doctor to allow it.

**Author's Note:**

> Still with me? I know this is an odd premise, but tumblr user theblacklistforever97 asked if anyone wanted to try to write her AU prompt, and I volunteered. I love the idea of it, and if you can get past the AU, then I think you'll end of loving it too (I hope) *crosses fingers*. Liz will be in the next chapter and we'll definitely get some Lizzington moments. So is this something that you all want to see continued? If there's enough interest then I'll definitely keep writing it. I would love to hear your thoughts. Thanks for reading.
> 
> PS. Oh, and I know there are all those grandfather paradox things that could happen here, but I'm suspending those laws for the purpose of this fic. I mean you must have some suspension of belief when reading AU's right? :)


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